True Metal can only be applied to those of the NWOBHM stature, so when modern triplet (was quartet) Kaine crafted the perfect riposte for bringing back the traditional sounds of Heavy Metal, they failed to acknowledge that this was to be the best collection of sounds heard in Heavy Metal for years. Capturing the foundation of Iron Maiden in their peak-moment and covering it with Thrash Metal elements, this is perhaps the band England has been waiting for to keep the old guard alive. With their debut self-titled album unleashing six tracks of improved Metal since their first EP release, Kaine is sure set to prove that the 'core' genres are nowhere near as classic as True British Heavy Metal.

The fifth all-rounder of Dutch Symphonic Gothic Metal veterans Within Temptation carries more power and beauty than a Nijmegen flower show. Bringing more melodic vocals to the affray and magnificently timed musical notes, this is by far the quintet's best release yet. With vocals echoing in the decibel bar on-par with sopranos, Within Temptation are sure to continue to provide such delinquent and entrancing releases. 'The Unforgiving' is yet a testament to the extraordinary vocals of Sharon den Adel - by far making any Dutch singer seem obsolete, so you thought Evanescence was going to win the best vocals in Female metal? Think again, Within Temptation are here to leave a print on Metal music and are exceptionally capable of showing mainstream music that Metal is becoming even-more popular and diverse.

It seems to be a common practise amongst most Eastern-European Metal bands in that they find the interesting balance of using their native language with the ever-ready embodiment of Metal music, such is the case with Profeel and their album release 'Utrip', mixing Slovenian with the funky throw-down of Groove / Thrash Metal. Whilst it sounds rather strange, it does not fail to excite and as such provides a unique and honourable experience. With an array of ten tracks to drool over, the hunger for more is clearly experienced by this band's performance; let's just hope they don't eat the speakers. Profeel is setting new horizons and are sure to make a decent impact upon the Slovenian Metal scene.

It just seems a correlation between Denmark and the lust for Industrial-tinged Metalcore, well certainly for Raunchy and Hatesphere the industrial influences bite the bullet, but riding the nuclear rocket is Mnemic, the finest Modern Metal band Scandinavia has seen since the birth of Metal. Here is their third outing, 'Passenger' and its soul-destroying blast of futuristic cyber metal-meshed 'Industrial Metalcore'. With a fistful pummelling of double-kick drumming to immortalise any sound for millenniums to come and riffs and vocals to blast any clothes off a rock chick, 'Passenger' is by far Mnemic's best album to date and is an absolute treasure in the Danish Metal scene. Mnemic with their experimental side and their own Metal foundation giving them leverage, are sure to lead the assault by storm.

The classic release by the Norwegian duo The Kovenant signifies the tone of the Norwegian Black Metal scene, with added Industrial influences in the sound and image. Re-released in 2002, 'In Times Before The Light' is perhaps the last Black Metal rooted album they released, but whilst the symphonies add another dark dimension to their already astrological atheist stature, the beauty resides in the absolute majestic thunderous drumming found on tracks like 'from the storm of the shadows'. For the underground veterans of Norwegian Symphonic / Industrial Black Metal, their next adventure is one to wait for, since 'In Times Before The Light' they changed to Cyber Black Metal and so with that as their current genre, The Kovenant are waiting in the shadows for the right time to re-strike.